Damian Lillard On Why He’s ‘Excited’ About His Return To Portland Trail Blazers After Achilles Injury

Damian Lillard detailed why he’s “excited” about playing with this young Portland Trail Blazers team and what it meant to him in winning the three-point shooting contest. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

MediaNews Group via Getty Images

Damian Lillard may be out this entire season due to injury, but he proved that he still has it during All-Star weekend.

The nine-time All-Star guard is currently sidelined due to a torn Achilles tendon, an injury that will keep him out for the entire 2025-26 season. However, Lillard won the three-point contest during All-Star weekend for the third time, tying a record shared by Larry Bird and Craig Hodges.

The Portland Trail Blazers accomplished the feat despite not playing in a single game this season, becoming the first player to do so while missing the entire season.

“I felt a lot of joy just because I’m spending a lot of time in the empty gym, empty weight room, empty training room, because I’m showing up in the building, you know, 6:30, 7:00 AM every day because I don’t want to get in people’s way that are preparing to practice,” said Lillard in a one-on-one interview. “Or when people need prep to get warm before practice, I don’t want to be in the way. So I try to get all my stuff done before guys are showing up, so that I’m not taking some space away from somebody that has to do things so they can get ready to play.”

Lillard is one of the most accomplished players of this generation ever since he entered the NBA in 2012. He’s a seven-time All-NBA player and previously led the Blazers to a conference finals appearance during the 2018-19 season, the first time since the 1999-00 season that they advanced that deep into the playoffs.

After spending the past two years with the Milwaukee Bucks, Lillard – knowing he would be out for the entire season – made the decision to return to Portland after he was waived by the Bucks.

Lillard signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Blazers. It’s clear that he has a renewed joy and enthusiasm for the franchise where he first made his name. He also didn’t hide the fact how much he enjoyed being back on the court and competing in front of fans, even if it wasn’t an actual game.

“A lot of my time is spent in the gym training wise, a lot of it is spent in front of nobody,” said Lillard. “It’s me and the PT and training room and in the weight room, and then it’s me and the player development guys on the court going through court workouts and stuff like that. It was great to get back in front of fans. It was great to have some competition out there and feel some pressure and have to make shots.

“It was just good to be back on stage getting to do what I do,” said Lillard. “I was very happy to win it. I was excited to be going back. I appreciate the league for giving me that opportunity to have that moment.”

Lillard won’t play again until next season, but he’s already looking forward to playing with some of his young teammates, including 24-year-old Deni Avdija, who just clinched his first All-Star bid this season. The Blazers also feature fellow guard Shaedon Sharpe, who is averaging 21.4 points per game this season.

The Blazers have played fairly well this season when considering their coach entering the season, Chauncey Billups, is on leave due to an illegal gambling investigation and the fact that they had little expectations entering the year. As of this writing, Portland is 29-33, 10th in the West and in contention for a play-in spot.

By comparison, the Blazers were 36-46 last season and finished in 12th in the Western Conference.

“I’m really excited to play with them, I’m watching every game from the bench, and I can just see the potential of the team,” said Lillard. “I can see that for them individually and for us as a team. I see where I can have an impact on these guys and on this team. I think the league is changing, it’s kind of shifting to where a lot of the guys who’ve been the stars at the top of the league for the last 15 years are kind of phasing out and getting a little bit older, and now it’s a lot of balance across the league.

“You don’t really know who’s going to win and I think me joining this team, still having a lot of good years left, and a better young team we got a great opportunity to jump right in that mix with a real opportunity to to win big,” Lillard continued to say. “I’m excited about that.”

Damian Lillard On Oakley Partnership, Why Enigma Ink Glasses Are Special To Him

While Lillard works to make his return to the court, he’s keeping busy with his ongoing partnership with Oakley. Oakley is obviously known for its sunglasses and Lillard has been partnered with the brand for the past four or five years.

Lillard has a series of sunglasses with Oakley, but his newest release is called the “Signature Series Enigma Ink.” It’s a monochromatic frame that is being released through tinted and optical lens.

“I would say the previous ones were more sporty,” said Lillard of his previous releases with Oakley. “I feel like they were just a more sporty style glasses.
This one it more represents fashion in a different way than before. We got the clear lens, and then we got the dark tint. Shades that I wear what I would consider fashion. I think you can tell the difference in the direction of this one from the first one.”

The 35-year-old talked about how he grew up a fan of the Oakley brand and how it’s “great partnership” that has given him the ability to show his creativity and style of fashion.

“It’s been an ongoing partnership, I guess I’ll start with that,” said Lillard “It’s been a great one. Since I was in high school, I remember a lot of the songs that I listen to, they would mention Oakley and obviously anything I got it was either free or something affordable. But it was something that we recognized and we were familiar with for a long time.

“To have a partnership with Oakley it’s been special,” Lillard continued to say. “It’s been great for them to take in my input, to believe in me as a athlete and as an asset to the company. It’s been fun, but the Enigma Ink is inspired by identity, expression and legacy.”

Damian Lillard’s new Enigma Ink Oakley sunglasses.

Oakley

Lillard continued to hammer home how important “legacy” and being true to himself is when it comes to anything he’s involved in.

“All things that I take a lot of pride in obviously being myself, standing on who I am, the different ways that I express myself, whether it be music, speaking up on behalf of the things that I believe in,” said Lillard. “My legacy, the body of work that I have and why I’ve done it. What built me up to be able to accomplish the things I’ve accomplished, and to want to spread that, and to touch and reach as many people as possible through that. I love the fact that we’ve created something that people can look at me, and feel connected to it. And we did it with style.”